Bodhi On The Way: Legends and Faces of the Camino: Logroño to Burgos (27 September to 5 October, 2015)

As luck would have it, we walked into La Rioja right in the middle of the grape harvest, enlivening our passage. As we worked our way across increasingly rural areas we would delve deeper into the legends and myths that have shaped the history and heritage of the Camino, which has of course developed and evolved according to the villages and landscapes that it passes through. Although wild-camping most of the time, we would meet an aging sage in a donativo albergue in Tosantos and later we would be hosted by friends in the fascinating city of Burgos...

Leaving Logroño, Katy marks our progress towards Santiago.

Our campsite next to Pántano de la Granjera

A glance back over vineyard lands as we climb up away from the Logroño area.

Look closely and you'll see pilgrim-placed crosses (with sticks that had been found trailside) adorning this fence. A great example of spontaneous pilgrim folk art/expression, other examples of which can be found repeatedly along the way.

Tawdry hostel publicity found along the Camino - one big criticism of the "modern" Camino is that it has become very commercial and in some cases in poor taste, and this is a prime example.

Approaching the village of Navarette.

La Parada, a small café serving pilgrims in Navarrete.

Pilgrims gathered for a mid-morning stop at La Parada.

The plentiful grapes of La Rioja, about to be picked.

La Rioja is Spain's foremost wine-producing region.

Roadside picnic with Anne, Jeff, Nathaniel and Ari. This was one of the only patches of shade we found in many kilometers of walking.

Andando o en bicicleta cuidamos el planeta. "By walking or cycling we care for the planet." Nothing truer than this.

Some more examples of the beautiful landscapes of La Rioja...

This German fellow had walked from his home in Germany to here, and was on his way to Santiago, eventually the Pacific Crest Trail (USA), and finally Patagonia.

In the town of Nájera we reconnected with Phil and Maureen and of course, Bodhi, meaning our 3-day childfree vacation was officially over.

Climbing dirt tracks out of Nájera...

... where we camped near an almond tree and next to ripe vineyards, and had an autumn full moon cast moonlight over us all night long.

Bodhi sleeps best while camping. He loves his sleeping bag (and the outdoors), you see.

The little pilgrim checking our progress.

Impressive family crest/armorial shield seen in Azofra.

Ultreia is an Occitan word loosely meaning: "onwards!" and was the most common greeting amongst medieval pilgrims.

Bo shows off a bunch of fresh grapes, a gift from another pilgrim.

Entering the village of Cirueña.

Making friends with some locals.

A lonely stretch of Camino between Cirueña and Santo Domingo...

... where we camped in a fell wind, but with shelter behind a single sprawling tree.

From our campsite we watched a fantastic dusk light show over the town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

Ahh, waking up to another long day of walking!

Bo prefers his bike to get to Santo Domingo.

Scallop-shell art as we enter Santo Domingo. The scallop shell became inextricably linked to the persona of St. James due to one or more miracles that occurred at the time of the transport of the apostle's body from the Holy Land to Galicia. In medieval times, pilgrims returned home wearing a scallop shell (plentiful on the Galician coast) as proof of the completion of their pilgrimage. Modern pilgrims almost universally affix shells to their backpacks to identify themselves as St. James pilgrims.

Statue of Santo Domingo de La Calzada, one of numerous saints to be canonized due to their efforts to protect and aid pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago. In this case, the saint - who lived in the eleventh century - had originally wanted to be a Benedictine monk, but was denied. He instead devoted his efforts to founding a village and building a bridge, hospital and hostel to attend to pilgrims.

Exploring the ancient streets of Santo Domingo...

El Catedral de Santo Domingo de la Calzada, located directly over the 900-yr.-old-tomb of Santo Domingo himself.

One of the Camino's classic legends was born in Santo Domingo: Santo Domingo de la Calzada
donde cantó la gallina después de asada. "Where the chicken crowed after being roasted". The Gothic-style henhouse pictured here was ordered by Pope Clement in the 14th century to acknowledge the miracle performed by Santo Domingo, long dead by this time. The hen and the rooster are changed every month, and have been since the Middle Ages!

Sadly, Spain has done little to protect the actual passage of the Camino - instead building modern highways adjacent to and sometimes over the original pilgrims' route. Due to the noise of traffic and the ugliness of the highways, pilgrims generally revile these stretches...

... the silver lining is that it feeds Bodhi's fascination with big colorful trucks.

Jing and Katy. Jing is Chinese but lives in Quebec.

Stained glass seen in Grañon.

The village of Grañon backed by distant mountains.

The deeper we get into Spain the more expansive the landscapes become.

Having left La Rioja behind, we are now in the massive Castilla y León, the largest autonomous community in Spain.

Late afternoon picnic in Redecilla del Camino.

The incredible Romanesque baptismal font seen in the church at Redecilla.

Our campsite on the edge of sprawling plains near Viloria de la Rioja.

Bo, Katy and Jing approaching Belorado.

An arresting sight, this, in which a saint is depicted as carrying his own severed head. Not sure which saint this is, but martyred-by-beheading was certainly his fate.

The church in Belorado has storks' nests all over its tower.

Statue in Belorado.

In the village of Tosantos, we passed by the Casa Parroquial San Francisco de Assis to see if we could stay the night...

... and were welcomed by José-Luis, an hospitalero (hospitality host) who welcomes pilgrims into his home every night, and has been doing so for nearly 30 years! José-Luis has himself made 18 pilgrimages, the first being in the early 1980's when very few people were walking the Camino. Over a homemade participatory dinner, he elucidated about the medieval and modern experiences of the Camino - but also lamented what he saw was a spiritual degradation of the experience due to current commercial exploitation (including luxury hotels, the growing presence of tour groups and tour buses, pilgrims' luggage transport services, pilgrims on tight schedules, pilgrims and hostel owners with competitive energy, etc. etc.).

José-Luis' donativo albergue, and his own lifestyle, is based on the philosophy of St. Francis de Assisi, who made the pilgrimage in the year 1214. In a donativo, pilgrims pay what they can, to help support future operation of the donativo.

A view to the Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña, built into the cliffside, where we witnessed a pilgrims' mass and blessing the evening before.

Gypsy Prince gives his approval!

Crossing paths with a bicigrino (pilgrim on bike) from Rio de Janeiro.

Bicigrinos on The Way...

... the youngest bicigrino of all.

Pilgrims making their way towards San Juan de Ortega...

... which requires negotiating some rollercoaster hills.

La Iglesia de San Nicolas de Bari and the monastery of San Juan de Ortega. San Juan, mostly active in the 12th century, had been a disciple of Santo Domingo, and helped complete and build various bridges and walkways between Logroño and Burgos.

Romanesque depiction of the Annunciation in La Iglesia de San Nicolas de Bari in San Juan.

The tomb of San Juan de Ortega, whose base is on all four sides adorned with Romanesque scenes of the miracles he has performed.

Who's up for some peek-a-boo?

How to keep his attention for ages!

Breaking out all the toys is one of Bo's favorite times of the day...

... as is the making of fire in the evenings...

Our campsite in thick woods just beyond San Juan de Ortega (elevation 1000+ m). We camped here in 0 (C) temps, under a tarp. Luckily we have quality warm sleeping bags, but either way it made us anxious to retrieve our tent (which we had previously mailed ahead to Burgos from the south of France).

Our walk brought us past this gal the following morning.

This French pilgrim was undertaking Arles to Finisterre.

Surprised to see this in rural Spain, but also happy to see that the resistance is strong and growing.

Tarantula spotted outside Atapuerca.

What was first a long gentle climb away from Atapuerca...

... would become an epic contest of will: Jeff vs. Gravity and Inertia. Jeff won.

Hard to get lost when you've got thirty-foot-long stone arrows pointing the way.

The empty landscapes around Cruz de Matagrande.

A preview of the terrain leading to Burgos (in the distance).

Bo wakes up from his nap and wants out, no matter what!

Great dirt track in late afternoon near Orbaneja.

After another cold night camping near Castañares, we followed a recreational trail along the Rio Arlanzón...

... to reach the next great city along the Camino: Burgos.

Arriving in the rain on a busy Sunday morning.

Katy takes a seat with some of Burgos' permanent citizens.

We were met by Quique, who - along with his partner Silvia - would host us for three nights in Burgos. We had met them in a campground in Cahors while still in France. They themselves were doing a cycling vacation in France and invited us to come stay with them when we arrived in Burgos.

The surreal, hallucinatory cathedral of Burgos, begun in the 13th century, and one of the grandest in Spain...

... complete with La Escalera Dorada (golden staircase) from the 16th century...

... and Matamoros, of course.

You cannot be in Burgos for 10 seconds without coming face-to-face with a likeness of El Cid Campeador, an iconic medieval knight who was a feared mercenary of the eleventh century. Born close to Burgos, which at that time was the capital of the kingdom of Castilla, El Cid participated in countless military campaigns and rose to great power and fame. He is also credited with making the pilgrimage to Santiago in the 11th century, before being married.